Weather strip



' Nov. 6, 1951 c. P. SCHLEGEL 2,574,124

WEATHER STRIP Filed June 20, 1947 2 SHEETS-'SHEET 1 I A I Nov. 6, 1951 c. P. SCHLEGEL WEATHER STRIP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed June 20, 1947 INVENTOR. lm'szsciyel B Patented Nov. 6, 1951 WEATHER STRIP Charles P. Schlegel, Rochester, N. Y., as signor to The Schlegel Manufacturing Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation'of NeW YQITk Application June 20, 1947, Serial No. 756,052

Claims.

This invention relates to weather strips and, more particularly, to the flexible windlace variety, such as adapted for attachment, for example, to the frame of a vehicle door about the outline of an opening therein in position for contact with the door to seal its joint with the frame, one object of the invention being to provide an improved windlace of this character having a more simple, practical and inexpensive type of construction.

Another object is the provision of a windlace of the above character having an attaching strip provided with a stiffening strip or braid of a more simple, flexible and eflicient nature, sothat the windlace may be more readily and smoothly curved in the plane of its attaching strip to follow the outlines of an opening to be sealed, while resiliently stiffened for engagement with the door in its closed position. More specifically stated, it is an object of the invention to supply such a windlace with a stiffening strip or braid composed of transversely extending strands of resiliently flexible metal wire so arranged and connected with one another as tomake such stiffening strip more readily flexible in its own plane to follow the outline of an opening, without necessity for radially slitting its outer edge at the points of curvature to permit such bending.

A further object is to provide a windlace having the above advantages in a form of construction adapted to be more readily and economically manufactured and assembled ready for use.

To these and other ends the inventionresides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification,

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a windlace embodying the present invention and showing the same as applied in use to the frame of a door; I

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2--2 in.

Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged central sectional view i the plane of the attaching strip of the windlace,

showing the same applied in use as in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line l4 in Fig, 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly broken away, showing the windlace in a somewhat modified form;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the parts shown in Fig. 5 but partly in section to better illustrate the construction, and

Fig. '7 is a sectional view onthe line I-Jin Fig. 6. r 1

shown.

.The preferred embodiment of the invention, herein disclosed by way of illustration, comprises :a. bead-like core portion indicated generally at I 0 having a laterally extending, flat, attaching strip portion H adapted to be secured, as by tacks I2, to the frame I3 of a door 54, for sealing the joint l5 between the door and its frame.

The core ll! of the windlace is composed principally of a bead-like filler strip l6, of resiliently soft and flexible material such, for example, as sponge rubber, preferably of cylindrical shape and adapted to be pressed into close sealingcontact with the surface of the door. The attaching strip II, for this core encloses a stiffening strip ll of transversely extending, resiliently flexible wire strands, as more particularly described hereafter. One edg of this stiffening strip I] is embedded in and secured to the core, as by molding the rubber core about the edge of the strip, as well understood in the art, or by slitting the core radially inwardly, as at l8, and inserting and securing the stiffening strip Il therein with rubber or other suitable cement, as

The stiffening strip H is preferably constructed from a length of resiliently flexible metal wire bent alternately in opposite directions as at 2],

.to provide oppositely disposed loops forming the opposite edges of the strip, as shown. The transversely extending wire strands thus produced are laid in relatively close proximity to one another in the unstretched portions of the windlace and posite edges, respectively. The cord 22 at the outer edge of the strip may be made of cotton or other fibrous or suitable material and knitted somewhat loosely between and through the wire loops at the edge of the strip, so as to becapable of some extension and allow some separation of v adjacent loops, when the windlace is curved about a corner of a window opening, as shown in Fig. 3. I have found that this outer strand 22 may be made advantageously of an elastic rubber cord, knitted between and through the loops, and adapted to stretch between adjacent loops as shown in Fig, 3, to facilitate such curvature of the windlace about the portions of an opening. Where thestiifening strip is molded in the filler strip l6 and thus subjected to heat, the cord 23 is made of a fiber yarn, or of a plastic such as nylon, capable of withstandingsuch heat withoutinjury. In any case; it has been found preferable for this cord to employ a non-stretching yarn and to knit it tightly through the wire loops to resist longitudinal stretching of the filler strip I6. Such connection of the loops of the wire strands is quickly and economically accomplished by knitting the stay cord through them, as described, thereby sufficiently binding the wire strands together to retain the shape of thestrip during the handling thereof before, as well a after assembly in the windlace.

After the stiffening strip I! has been secured in the bead-like filler strip I6 of the core, a strip of flexible covering material 24, of textile "fabric or the like, is wrapped aroundthejcore llifwith ing 21 passed through the edge portions'25 and r 26, preferably closely'adjacent to the core, as shown. The cover portions 25Iandl26 and l'the stiffening strip I! thus together form the attaching strip ll through which tacks may be driven to securely attach the windlace to the door frame, as (3. The windlace'is readily carried around the outline of an openingand smoothly curved about the corners thereof, inthe plane ofLthe attaching strip without causing it to appreciably buckle or pucker out of such plane. Aslso attached, the core projects atone side across the plane of the frame surface to which it is tacked. so as to lie in the path of and engagethe door when in closed position. In such position, the

door presses the core slightly to one side against of its own material which, together with thestiffening strip, spring'back'to normal position when released by the door. h

The stiffening strip may 'also be formed as a woven wire braid, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. Inthis modified construction, the core portion I 0 and attaching strip II have the same construction as described above and the stiffening strip 28 is associated therewith in the same manner. In this braid-like stiffening strip, however, a series of resiliently flexible metal wires, as29, 30 and 3 I, are arranged to extend obliquely across the strip in interwoven relation with each other as shown, the wires being alternately bent inopposite directions as 32 and 33,'to' provide oppositely disposed loops forming the opposite edges of the braid. The'braid is enclosed-between the edge portions and 26 of the cover strip which are stitched together as before by aline of stitching Zl-adjacent to the core. The wire strandsfof which the braid 2a is formed are adapted to resiliently bend and slide one upon another to a sufficient extent in the plane of the braid, so as to allow it to be readily and smoothly curved in such plane as described above in connectionwith the modification of Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive,'without appreciable buckling or puckering of the attaching strip or windlace.

A windlace of either of the above forms is readily manufactured with a minimum requirement of materials of inexpensive nature and maybe quickly and easily tacked in place around an opening or joint to be sealed. The core and its attaching strip are yieldable for curvature, both in the plane of the attaching strip and transversely thereto for adaptation to practically any opening and for maintaining close contact with in andsecured to said core, said strip. comprising plishes its objects and while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of preferred .mbodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather th'an'a limiting sense. as it is contemplated that variousTmodiflcations in the construction and arrangement of'the'parts will readily occur to those skilled in the ar't,'within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A windlace having a bead-like core of resiliently soft and flexible material, a resiliently flexible stiffening strip having one'edge embedded structural member about an opening therein to resiliently support said covered core in sealing relation to said opening.

2. A windlace having a bead-like core of re- "silientlysoft and flexible material, 'a resiliently flexible stiffening strip having one edge embedded inand secured to said core, s'aid strip comprising a series of strands 'of resiliently flexible metal wire extending transversely of said strip 'and bent at theiropposite ends'to form loops connecting adjacent strands along the opposite edges of said strip, and a strand of flexible inateria1 knitted through and connecting adjacent loops along each of said strip edges, and a strip of flexible covering material wrapped around said core withits edgeportions secured together and-extended to cover the opposite sides of said stiffening strip to form therewith an attaching strip flexible in its own plane and adapted to be attached to a structural member about an opening therein toresiliently support said covered core in sealing relation to said opening.

3. A windlace having a bead-like core of resiliently soft and flexible material, a resiliently flexible stiffening strip having one edge embedded in and secured to said core, said strip comprising a series of strands 'of resiliently flexible metal wire extending transversely of saidstrip and bent at their opposite ends to form loops connecting adjacent strands along the opposite edges of said strip, and a resilient rubber strand knitted "through and connecting adjacent "loops along each of'said strip edges, anda' strip of flexible covering materialwrapped around said core with its edge portions secured. together and extended to cover the opposite sides of said stiffening strip to form therewith an attaching strip flexible in its own plane and adapted to be attached to a structural member about anppening therein to resiliently support said covered core in sealing relation to said opening. V I

4. Awindlace having a bead' like core ofresiliently soft and flexible material, a resiliently I 5 flexible stiffening strip having one edge embedded in and secured to said core, said strip comprising a resiliently flexible metal wire bent upon itself alternately in oppositely disposed loops' forming the opposite edges of said strip anda series of transversely extending strands, and a strand of flexible material knitted through and connecting adjacent loops along each of said strip edges, and a strip of flexible covering material wrapped around said core with its edge portions secured together and extended to cover the opposite sides of said stiffening strip to form therewith an attaching strip flexible in its own plane and adapted to be attached to a structural member about an opening therein to resiliently support said covered core in sealing relation to said opening.

5. A windlace having a bead-like core of resiliently soft and flexible material, a resiliently flexible stiffening strip having one edge embedded in and secured to said core, said strip comprising a resiliently flexible metal wire bent upon itself alternately in oppositely disposed loops forming the opposite edges of said strip and a series of transversely extending strands, and a resilient rubber strand knitted through and connecting adjacent loops along each of said strip edges, and a strip of flexible covering material wrapped around said core with its edge portions secured together and extended to cover the opposite sides of said stiffening strip to form therewith an attaching strip flexible in its own plane and adapted to be attached to a structural member about an opening therein to resiliently support said covered core in sealing relation to said opening.

CHARLES P. SCHLEGEL.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 21,337 Hamm Jan. 30, 1940 2,102,392 Tea Dec. 14, 1937 2,121,893 Tea June 28, 1938 2,195,046 Best Mar. 26, 1940 2,257,603 Harrah Sept. 30, 1941 2,299,955 Spraragan Oct. 27, 1942 2,337,303 Spraragen Dec. 21, 1943 

